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DoD SEQUESTER PLAN DUE: The Pentagon’s plan for dealing with sequestration during the next fiscal year is due today to SASC. In May, committee Chairman Carl Levin and ranking member Jim Inhofe requested the plan, saying they believed “a concrete demonstration of the painful choices” required under sequestration would motivate their colleagues to further stave off the automatic spending cuts.

Last week, Levin said he was hopeful the Pentagon would meet its July 1 deadline for submitting the plan. “The last I heard from the Pentagon was they expect to be able to do it by then or shortly after, but that word came a couple weeks ago,” the Michigan Democrat told reporters. And Inhofe said the plan would be worse than dire. “Things are dire today,” the Oklahoma Republican told Morning D. “Take another $52 billion out, and it will be worse.”

THE LATEST ON SNOWDEN — STRANDED AT THE AIRPORT: Edward Snowden now finds himself an unwanted man, with Ecuador’s president saying the NSA leaker can’t leave Moscow without the consent of Russia, The Associated Press reports. Meanwhile, Russian officials insist Snowden isn’t their problem — as long as he stays in the transit zone of the Sheremetyevo Airport.

“At the same time,” according to the AP, “the Kremlin said Sunday that it will take public opinion and the views of human rights activists into account when considering Snowden's case, a move that could lay the groundwork for him to seek asylum in Russia.” http://politi.co/118EtbW

-- Senators want tough response: Yet again, Snowden was the talk of the Sunday shows, with Sens. John McCain and Chuck Schumer making a bipartisan call on “Fox News Sunday” for tough actions against Russia and Ecuador. “They should pay a price," Schumer said of Russia. “They're always are putting their finger in our eye” (http://politi.co/1aZhgLl).

On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Snowden is no hero. “I think it's pretty good that he's stuck in the Moscow airport,” Pelosi said. “That's okay with me. He can stay there, that's fine” (http://politi.co/1aZdd1m).

-- Assange: Snowden “marooned:” On ABC’s “This Week,” WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange acknowledged Snowden’s predicament. “The United States, by cancelling his passport, has left him for the moment marooned in Russia," Assange said. "I think that every citizen has the right to their citizenship; to take someone's principle form of citizenship, their passport, is a disgrace."

"He is a hero," Assange added. "He has told the people of the world and the United States that there is mass unlawful interception of their communications." http://politi.co/1aZkDSw

TOP STORY — EUROPE FURIOUS OVER SPYING, via Michael Birnbaum of The Washington Post: “European leaders reacted with fury Sunday to allegations in a German newsmagazine that the United States had conducted a wide-ranging effort to monitor European Union diplomatic offices and computer networks, with some saying that they expected such surveillance from enemies, not their closest economic partner.

“Underscoring the depth of European anger over the allegations, top officials from several European countries said that the reports of spying would figure into the future of transatlantic trade talks that began in June. The efforts would create the world’s largest free-trade zone, and European officials said Sunday that they suspected the target of U.S. intelligence interest was economic information, not military.” http://wapo.st/14kNJYF

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HAPPY MONDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where it’s noted that the Battle of Gettysburg began on this day in 1863. The “largest military conflict in North American history,” as the History Channel calls it, Gettysburg would turn the tide of the war and send Robert E. Lee retreating to Virginia (more here: http://bit.ly/9zNoAg). Keep the tips, pitches and feedback coming to awright@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter @morningdefense, @abwrig and @POLITICOPro.

THE PRESIDENT’S WEEK: President Barack Obama and his family are in Tanzania today and tomorrow. On Thursday, for the Fourth of July, the president is hosting service members and their families at the White House for barbeque, a concert and “a view of fireworks on the South Lawn,” according to a White House statement.

MEANWHILE … THE HOUSE AND SENATE are on recess this week. For his part, Sen. Levin is heading to Jordan and Turkey with Maine Sen. Angus King to discuss the situation in Syria with foreign leaders and U.S. military commanders.

TOP TALKER — LAWMAKER BLASTS INVESTIGATION OF GEN. ALLEN, via Tom Vanden Brook of USA Today: “The Pentagon's inspector general failed to subpoena e-mails sent from Gen. John Allen's private e-mail account to a Tampa socialite as part of its investigation into whether Allen violated military rules or released classified information, according to a member of House Armed Services Committee who has called for a more thorough review.

“Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., was briefed by the inspector general's office last week on the investigation and calls it little more than a whitewash. The real story of what happened between Allen, who has since retired, and Jill Kelley is unknown, she said, because Allen refused to turn over personal e-mails.”

-- DoD responds: In a statement, Pentagon press secretary George Little rejected the assertion that the investigation into Allen’s emails was incomplete and said the retired general continues to serve “as a valued senior adviser to Secretary (Chuck) Hagel.” More here: http://ohne.ws/17xnJe6

SEQUESTER WATCH — BASES SCRAP FOURTH OF JULY PLANS, via Jennifer Kerr of The Associated Press: “The Fourth of July won’t have a patriotic boom in the sky over some military bases because budget cuts and furloughed workers also mean furloughed fireworks. Independence Day celebrations have been canceled at the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base and at the Army’s Fort Bragg, both in North Carolina. The annual July Fourth celebration also has been scrapped at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Ga. The reason is money — namely the lack of it.

-- Millions of Egyptians are protesting the rule of President Mohamed Morsi, demanding his ouster, The New York Times reports. http://nyti.ms/11WvCVY

-- Marines in southern Europe are on alert as a precaution in case the protests in Egypt lead to a breakdown in security that would require the protection of U.S. diplomatic posts and citizens there, CNN reports. http://bit.ly/14D7MAy

-- In Afghanistan, casualty rates for U.S. troops are at their lowest point in five years, reports McClatchy. http://bit.ly/17O0iki

-- Marine Corps Times has the latest on the case of the officer charged in connection with the video that surfaced last year of Marines urinating on corpses of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. The officer’s lawyer alleges the Marine Corps suppressed evidence related to the case. http://bit.ly/17MEYvq

THAT’S ALL FOR US. Have a great Monday.

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